mmm-yoso – Page 184 – As in, yoso-silly, yoso-hungry, yoso-full, or best of all; mmm-delici-yoso!!!!! A San Diego based food and travel blog. An Ex-Pat Kama'aina and Friends explore food, restaurants, and travel from San Diego and points beyond.

San Francisco – Mourad

September 10, 2018 mmm-yoso Fine Dining, Moroccan Food, North African Food, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Travel

Much like our trip to Portland in 2015, part of reason was just to rest in air conditioned goodness….which is what we did after lunch at China Live. We awoke refreshed and decided on a short stroll before dinner. We decided to just take a stroll down Market to the Ferry Building.

It was a nice stroll, past the hustle and bustle, the street merchants were just closing up for the day.

We walked through the Ferry Building, giving the Missus a chance to check out various places as possibilities for tomorrow's lunch.

We walked through and past various shops…..most were closed or closing for the day. And then headed out back to the Ferry Terminals and just basically sat and watched.

I guess this must seem just routine to folks who live in the Bay Area; but for us, it was just relaxing and fun.

A short time later we decided to head to our dinner destination. Our good friend Candice had recommended Mourad, a Michelin Star restaurant that serves Moroccan inspired cuisine with local ingredients and modern techniques. The location was a few blocks from our hotel on New Montgomery Street. We were a bit early for our reservation, so we had a seat at the bar. Our mixologist was quite the showman and very knowledgeable. I had, what might be the best and one of the most expensive ($24) cocktails I've had in recent memory. A magical concoction called "Legend of the Brave".

A blend of Scotch, ciociaro, jalapeno-pineapple shrub syrup, "Scotch mist", and blood orange, this had that nice combination of smokey-savory-bitter and not-too-sweet flavors I enjoy in a cocktail. The Missus had some Scotch and is now somewhat enamored with it.

Soon enough, we were notified that our table was ready. It was in the upstairs portion of the restaurant.

Mourad does have a tasting menu and what they call "la'acha" family sized meals….which based on what we saw on two other tables would be just too much for the Missus and I. We ordered a couple of dinner items and two sides, which turned out to be more than enough for us.

The first three dishes were brought out together.

Things started off with the Lamb Tartare ($18), which was topped with sliced green apple.

The tangy green apple added a nice crunch but really didn't add much to the overly salty tartare. Ditto the wheatberry. The sodium level just wiped out any flavor the tender lamb would have.

Next up; what they simply call "Eggplant" ($18) on the menu.

This dish featured a wonderful range of textures and flavors. From the tender earthy eggplant and oregano, the brightness of za'atar, the crunchy, very clean-brininess of the cucumber. On occasion you'd have the distinct, nutty, resinous of pine nuts mixed in. The bread was hot and wonderful. The puree was slightly smokey, mildly sweet, but also on the salty side. It was best used as a spread for the bread.

When the Foie Gras ($26) arrived….well, we weren't too sure about it. Wrapped with shredded and from what we could taste, pickled green papaya and topped with freeze dried strawberries (??), this was very good!

The crunch, mild sourness of the green papaya and the light sweetness of that trendy freeze dried strawberries to complement the richness of the creamy foie gras was nothing short of amazing. We could detect the slight fragrance of rose water as well. Add to that crisp, buttery, and slightly sweet brioche toast and this was easily my favorite dish of the evening.

In a display of almost flawless timing, our last dish and two sides were brought out seconds after we had finished our first three dishes and our table cleared. We both thought the service at Mourad was very professional and pleasant.

The Duck Basteeya ($25) was presented to us as Chef Lahlou's signature dish.

You really couldn't fault the presentation. The filo dough around the eggroll-chimichanga-ish basteeya was light and crisp; it had been put together perfectly. Unfortunately, while the duck confit was lovingly, we found this to be much too sweet for our taste.

I enjoyed the Heirloom Bean Shakshuka ($10); topped with a "ying-yang" of bread crumbs and what tasted like a feta cream.

The beans had a wonderful texture; just enough of a bite and I enjoyed the blend of flavors in this one.

The Missus really loved the Kale ($10).

This was a wonderful braised kale dish; the Harissa, something I use quite often in my cooking adding some zip. It was a wonderful, hearty dish.

Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Mourad; there were some nice surprises and the meal ended with two comforting dishes. The service was excellent. And that cocktail! I think we'll be back…probably to eat at the bar…..some foie gras, eggplant, kale, and beans……and a couple of those cocktails!

Mourad Restaurant
140 New Montgomery St. #1
San Francisco, CA 94105
Hours:
Mon – Fri 1130am – 10pm
Sat – Sun 5pm – 10pm

Pho Duoi Bo from Royal Garden

September 9, 2018 mmm-yoso Pho, Vietnamese Restaurants

**** Royal Garden has closed

I found myself back in City Heights this past weekend and decided to drop by Royal Garden to see what was going on.

I believe there was some kind of event going on later in the day as chairs were arranged, though all the tables near the window were occupied. Seems like they are doing some decent business these days.

I hadn't had a bowl of pho in a while and I recall thinking it was pretty good on one of my previous visits. So I ordered the Pho Duoi Bo – oxtail pho.

The sprouts were really fresh; though the basil was just starting to turn color. No ngo gai (cilantro) on this visit.

The bowl that arrived was quite huge.

There was one very large piece of oxtail and three smaller pieces. The texture of the meat was perfect; tender enough to be able to remove from the bone with chopsticks, but not falling to pieces. It was obviously cooked in some other liquid since it had a nice slightly sweet, winey-soy flavor, with a hint of ginger, edging almost toward a pork braise. There was also some decent slices of flank and brisket in the bowl; but it really was all about the oxtail.

The broth was darker this time around and more beefy with hints of anise…..it was also a bit on the sweeter side, but not overly salty. It wasn't quite as clear as on my previous visits either. Still; at least there was some beef flavor.

The noodles were cooked perfectly, but for some reason, there was a bunch of smaller pieces of noodles…..I'm thinking I got the "bottom of the package".

Regardless, this was a decent bowl. Looks like I found another place to get my "pho fix". And of course, like I mentioned in my previous post; there's much more to explore on the two different menus.

Royal Garden
4201 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92105
Hours:
Wed – Mon 9am – 9pm
Closed Tuesdays

From Parma to Ferrara

September 7, 2018 mmm-yoso Breakfast/Brunch, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Italy, Travel

*** Not much food in this one

After having a huge meal in Piacenza we drove back to the Agritourismo to find out that they had moved us to a smaller room! Apparently, they had reservations for a fairly large family who had booked a small room. We were told that they had tried to contact us, but were unsuccessful……and just decided to move us to a smaller room. Hmmm……well, at least they only charged us half the price for our "new" room….which unfortunately, was in the main building and was really loud….well, whatever. We did manage a nap and woke when folks started heading out for the evening. Still not hungry, we decided to head on back to Parma. I still had my parking stub from the previous day and we managed to find parking in basically the exact same spot, so I didn't have to pay.

We crossed at Ponte di Mezzo and noticed that folks below at Piazza Ghiaia were having a good old time.

As we walked down the stairs I cracked up……it appears that they were having some kind of American themes "50's" night……check out the billboards in the arcade area!

And of course the food trucks were serving burgers……

Among other things.

Our favorite part was watching the band and the folks dancing.

In some ways it seemed like a celebration of being American, in a way we don't really do anymore. It was a lot of fun……

Soon enough we headed back to our room and crashed, awaking the next morning before anyone…..

Grabbing some breakfast and then heading out.

Had things been perfectly timed, it would have been logical to head to Modena next. However, because of some critical dinner reservations, there was an extra night. So, I decided that we might enjoy spending a night in Ferrara. I got us a very nice room right outside the city walls….with parking. The woman who ran the B&B was so nice and the room was huge. It was just a short walk into the city.

Remember how I mentioned that Piacenza was pretty empty on Easter and we were told that folks liked to get out of big cities on holidays? Well, I think most of them were here.

Ferrara itself is quite stunning….more on that in a future post. The entire center of town was a market on this day….and we bought a few gifts.

And perhaps should have bought a few more?

The city is quite beautiful.

And charming. Piazza Trento e Trieste is pretty much the main square in Ferrara, right in front of the Cathedral. This is where we saw what might be our favorite street performer of all time, a puppeteer, who just had the Missus mesmerized, with his performance of a dog trying to impress his "love" to Louie Armstrong's version of La Vie en Rose.

Other dogs passing by would start barking at the puppet…..the gestures, the movement….the "pooch" even got scolded for peeing once….all while trying to impress his "lady friend". We gave this guy 2 Euros and he probably deserved more. When I went to put the coins in his container I noticed that it was almost full! This puppeteer was that good.

Here are a couple of excerpts.

We still watch these every so often. Hope you enjoy them!

And thanks for stopping by!

Siam Nara Revisited

September 6, 2018 mmm-yoso Thai Restaurants

A reader recently asked me if I'd been to Manila Fast Food and Desserts recently, because she thought things had changed. I hadn't been in about six months so I thought I'd check things out….problem was; it was Monday and the place is closed on Monday. Duh…. So, I had to find a place for lunch. There are quite a few options in this strip mall and I chose Siam Nara since I hadn't been back in over seven years!

The place still looks quite nice inside.

I hadn't planned on having Thai, so I really wasn't prepared and ended up choosing something off the lunch menu.

Which started with a very bland, water-logged "soup".

Soon enough my plate of food arrived….good lord, this was pretty large. Since I hadn't been to Siam Nara in so long, I'd forgotten a couple of things….like, even though I ordered the som tum "spicy", it had barely any heat at all, was light on the fish sauce, and too sweet for my taste. I totally got "gringo'd" on this one. Or perhaps that is basically how they make the food. The sticky rice was very moist and perhaps the most unsticky, sticky rice I'd had in a while.

Man, that's quite a bit of fried chicken; which was nicely fried, crunchy, but very bland. I wasn't going to use any of the sweet chili sauce, until I bit into the very dry chicken….it was so dry…then I recalled that all those years ago; I thought the kai yang here was on the dry side as well.

I'm going to stop here and not even go into the egg roll and the potato curry won ton thingy.

Yes, it's a very generous amount of food, but it's just not my kind of Thai.

Siam Nara
8993 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Open Daily 11am – 10pm

San Francisco – China Live

September 5, 2018 mmm-yoso Chicken Wings, Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Travel

It was funny how we ended up staying in San Francisco over the Labor Day weekend. Both the Missus and I had been working pretty hard and there was no trip in sight for a couple more months. It was a brutal Sunday here with record temps in the high 90's. For some reason, I decided to check to see what the weather was like in San Francisco…..61?!?!? I basically told the Missus "the heck (using a more colorful verb) with this….let's go to San Francisco." And She agreed. It had been quite a while since we visited the city; in recent years we'd stuck to visiting places to the North and the South of San Francisco. And I couldn't remember when we last visited……so I dug into my photo archives and holy smokes! Check out the date on this photo!

We last visited nearly sixteen years ago! It was when the Missus and I took Her parents to visit. A trip was way overdue. So, I booked our flight, hotel, and a couple of restaurants….two had been on my "list" and one was a recommendation of my good friend Candice. Instead of the usual suspects; like Gary Danko, et al….we were going a bit different this time around.

We arrived, caught BART, and managed to check into the Marriott Marquis early, at 10am! Things were looking up. We freshened up and just headed on out. I figured a lot had changed over the last sixteen years…..but of course, some things stay the same.

There's a certain nostalgia to walking through Chinatown, a mixture of old school, somewhat traditional businesses, it was almost comforting seeing Golden Gate Bakery and ducking into various food shops. Along with all the cheesy souvenir stores….good lord' where there always that many here?

One thing the Missus and I quickly noticed….Chinatown seems much cleaner and tidy than when we used to visit in the late 90's and early 'oughts.

I had been fascinated with the opening of China Live. We'd been to a couple of branches of Eataly in Europe….in Florence, Bologna, and Copenhagen. And when China Live was touted as being the "Chinatown" version, well, I just wanted to check it out. I'd also heard that the food; while priced on the high side was pretty good.

There a small shop with a variety of items; some really interesting looking tea and other stuffs. And a rather "hipsterish" looking dining area….you know; all that wood.

I kinda knew what I wanted to order; Sheng Jian Baozi, the "Peking" Duck, and the Pork Belly. They were out of the pork belly, so I went with plan B….which they were out of as well. So, we just decided to try the wings.

Meanwhile, the Missus ordered some tea; not cheap at $13.95….but man; it was really floral and helped to cut through all the richness of the food.

First up; the Sheng Jian Bao ($12)….yep twelve bucks for 4.

The filling was juicy, light, and had a nice porky flavor with just the right amount of ginger to balance things out. The dough was terrible; it wasn't cooked correctly making the dough on the top really gummy, the sides mushy….and the bottom was way too thick. I mean, I really didn't expect anything like we get in China or even what my MIL makes….but that wrapper was a total fail. Still, the filling was really good.

When our duck ($26) arrived, the Missus and I looked at each other, rather disappointed. The color didn't seem right……but we were oh so wrong…..

The skin was oh so thin and crisp; the fat had been rendered….it seems into the flesh of the duck which was supremely moist. The sesame buns were hard and dry and the duck delicately flavored, so we ended up just making cucumber (which was very good quality), scallion, and hoisin sandwiches and just enjoyed the duck on its own. This is the best duck I've had in a very long time. Like I mentioned earlier, the seasoning on this was quite mild as was the duck which wasn't very gamey. This might be the best item we had on the entire short trip.

Based on the previous two dishes we were quite surprised when the "Chicken of the Sea" Crispy Wings ($14) arrived. There were ten wings in this dish.

I bit into one and cracked up…….growing up in Hawaii, one of the must have Chinese Restaurant dishes is Ong Choi with what we call "harm ha" (Shrimp Paste). The wings had been battered with that….it was a bit of overkill and seemed really salty. Though, unlike the usual MSG laden wings we often get; this one didn't bring on thirst……still it was waaaay too salty. The quality of the wings was excellent, no broken bones, no blackening of the flesh….the skin was thin and perfectly fried….the flesh moist, the size optimum for that skin to meat ratio……we'd have really loved this if it wasn't such a sodium bomb.

The service was professional, the meal, not cheap at seventy bucks. The place did fill up quite quickly, a mixture of younger Chinese who seemed well off, Chinese tourists, hipster looking folk, and some families. We enjoyed our meal here…..and will likely return for that duck.

China Live
644 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
Hours:
Mon – Thurs 1130am – 10pm
Friday      1130am – 11pm
Saturday    1030am – 11pm
Sunday      1030am – 10pm

Leaving China Live; we headed to Stockton and started weaving our way past the markets and dim sum shops. Near Washington Street, I could here drums and percussion going….there was a Lion Dance happening somewhere…..

We found it happening in this street.

We got there just as the fireworks were going off.

The Missus and I laughed and basked in the noise, smoke, and shower of red paper……

It had been too long since we'd been in this wonderful city.

Lunch Revisits – Okan Diner and Hinotez

September 4, 2018 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants

Here are a couple of revisits for a post-holiday Tuesday.

Okan Diner:

I was headed back to the office from a meeting and decided to grab some lunch. It had been a while since I last visited Okan Diner. Since the restaurant is right off the 805, I decided to stop in. I was fairly surprised to see the place completely empty and it stayed that way during my entire meal!

I went with what I usually have for lunch here, the Katsuni ($11.50). When it arrived; I quickly noticed that the tonkatsu had gotten smaller since my last visit.

There's also less side dishes; more rice, and the miso soup was a lot more watered down.

The pork cutlet was a bit over cooked and dry, the breading too hard. There wasn't enough of the sweet-salty sauce and the eggs were over cooked as well. At least it was hot, right?

There was one thing that kinda bothered me even more than the mediocre food.

Unfortunately, the kitchen was in my direct line of sight and I kept seeing one of the prep cooks constantly stopping and checking his phone. Notice that he's cutting meat. He'd slice some meat, stop, pick up his phone and start texting; put the phone away, do additional prep, grab his phone and start texting, grab some other product, and so forth……without gloves. I just should have sat somewhere else……

I think I'll just go get me my usual lunch at Okan next time.

Okan Diner
5430 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Hinotez:

I've mentioned dropping by Hinotez for a quiet lunch. It's usually fairly empty for an early lunch. And this day was no exception.

The problem being; I didn't know what to order….it was way to hot for ramen on this day. I looked over then menu and even though it was a zillion degrees outside, I went with the Curry Combo……for some reason, I thought back to the time when Taisho was Curry Rice Hinotez. I just went for it and had the Curry Rice ($8) with Tonkatsu ($4) and an Onsen Tamago ($1). It ended up being a pretty hefty meal.

The curry was really thick and full of meat. It was a bit on the mild side so I added raiyu to add some zip. It was very meaty. As you can tell, it seems that the frying oil for the pork was off since the breading was super hard and dark. The actual meat was fairly moist and tender though. That runny egg sure didn't hurt things.

I was stuffed after this meal and had to grab a double espresso on the way back to the office.

Still, it wasn't bad meal. The woman working on this day was very efficient and nice. And I got a quiet and relaxed meal….just what I needed.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Marie Callender’s (revisits)

September 3, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Bakery, Desserts, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog since 2005. Sort of an old fashioned way of communicating about meals enjoyed with people nowadays posting photos instantly on other forms of social media. Usually there's a story involved with meals, sometimes, there isn't. Cathy is writing while Kirk is enjoying another day off.

In the 1930's, Marie Callender began a pie business, delivering to restaurants in Orange County. In 1964, she opened her own pie and coffee shop and in 1969, a full service restaurant. Today there are over 50 restaurants in the USA and Mexico and some products are sold in grocery stores. We are fortunate to have a nearby restaurant.

I posted about a birthday meal here two years ago. Comfort foods with a slice of pie for dessert.

Every meal begins with a large piece of fresh baked, still warm cornbread and butter brought to the table.
This golden bread is sweet and tender and unique. I've tried various 'copycat' recipes, but in the end, purchase the mix sold in grocery stores.
There is a "Pair and Share" special for $25 or $30. It includes an appetizer; we chose the cheesy artichoke dip-decadent and wonderful. Good thing they included a spoon, so there would be no leftovers or dirty fingers…
Two entrees are part of the P&S meal. This is the 'Traditional Frisco'- a 1/3 lb burger served on sourdough grilled with Parmesan.
This is the "Traditional French Dip" (the bread wasn't as soft as I'd like; needed to be dipped). Both came with fries and were part of a nice meal.
The meal includes two slices of pie. This is the French Apple, with a cinnamon crumble topping.
This is the German chocolate: chocolate cream, coconut, chopped pecans over a layer of chocolate on the crust.

We returned recently with a vacationing visitor. The cornbread was brought to the table.

Vegetable soup was chosen instead of an appetizer for both of our "Pair and Share" $30 meal. It was a great soup, filled with non-mushy vegetables.
A Hot Turkey Sandwich was one choice-Thanksgiving in the summer! Just right.
The other choice was a Meatloaf Dinner; again, great comfort food done well.
The mini pot pie ($11.99) was a perfect serving size and included a salad and dessert.
We had to get the slices of pie 'to go'. Double cream blueberry (vanilla custard and sour cream), coconut cream and double cream lemon (lemon custard and sour cream).

Marie Callender's 6950 Alvarado Road San Diego, CA 92120 (619)465-1910 Mon-Sat 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Website

Rice Noodle King (Hunan) (Kearny Mesa)

September 2, 2018 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog with almost daily posts. While Kirk is enjoying a three day weekend, Cathy is writing.

I lightly glossed over a factoid about The Mister a while ago. He's been undergoing some medical issues since 2014 and periodically receives adjustments or changes in medications. For some reason, the primary side effect on Him is a craving for spicy food. One day we were headed for (another) lunch at Little Sheep and passed this (new to us) signage, so popped a U turn and stopped to read the menu. (It has been open since March).

A simple menu, reasonable prices and the same owners as Sizzling Pot King, which I posted about in April.
Clean, a refrigerator of appetizers, pitcher of water on every table. Condiments on each table are chili oil, white pepper and black vinegar.
We decided to go simple for a first visit and ordered the cucumber salad ($4.99). This looked terrible and I (who never sends anything back) was prepared to, because of the slimy appearance. Looks are deceiving. Apparently this is what "Smacked Cucumbers" means to the chef here (not to be confused with Kirk's extremely meticulous (and spicy) recipe). The crispy, garlic-y, seedless, wonderfully random cut cucumbers were addictive in flavor and complimented our meal. The serving/bowl is deep and quite large.
We ordered the first soup on the menu (it only has one chili amount of heat)- Beef Stew Noodle (large, $10.99) with flat noodles. This was an excellent choice. There isn't much soup broth, the amount of heat is enough to keep the flavors of the (considerable amount, tender, deep flavored) beef, bok choy and noodles interesting. Would order again.
The fried pot stickers ($5.99) were also a good addition to the meal.
A nice, thin skin, lightly crispy and with a plentiful (flavorful) pork and cabbage filling.

This was a great find for a random stop and we will return to try more of the menu.

Rice Noodle King 8046 Clairmont Mesa Blvd San Diego 92111 (858)598-5182 Open daily 11 am-3 pm and 5 pm-9:45 pm

Sage Cafe (Barona Casino) -Cathy’s way of beating the heat (again)

September 1, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Breakfast/Brunch, What Cathy Eats!

Well, here you are on your device looking at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Perhaps you are looking for ideas of places to eat. Today Cathy is writing because Kirk is enjoying this Labor Day weekend by not using a device.

Like many of you, I lurk more than I comment on other blogs, websites and Facebook pages. With the hot and humid weather (the longest heat wave in 34 years), people were asking 'what restaurant has good air conditioning?' and having online conversations, looking for a place to cool down. I had two immediate answers-bowling alleys and casinos. This is the casino post.

Yes, I did write about Sage Cafe, inside Barona Casino, just a few months ago. The food here is very good. The air conditioning is wonderful.

Sage Cafe is the restaurant at the Hotel entrance to the casino. which has a view of the Golf Course. The menu is available 24/7. Breakfast choices are simple.

Coffee and orange juice along with fresh fruit and a chocolate croissant and banana nut muffin, is the Continental Breakfast here ($7.95) The banana nut muffin was really good; tall, banana fresh flavor and crispy pecans on top.
The chocolate croissant was meh too sweet, not really flaky. Still, a really good, easy breakfast. The Ilpay Eggs Benedict ($9.95) Wonderfully perfect poached eggs, Canadian bacon, a lemony house-made hollandaise sauce on top of a toasted English muffin. This was served with some really well made hash browns. All in all, a great breakfast.
We returned for lunch about a week later (gosh it was so nice to be in air conditioned comfort). Fresh rolls (sourdough and wheat) were brought out before we ordered. Fluffy with a crisp crust; didn't really need butter.

One of the choices of soup that day was turkey chili. Just enough heat and plenty of turkey and beans. Would order again…in the bowl size, as a meal.
The chili was the side chosen with the fish and chips($11.95). Lightly battered, the two large pieces of solid cod were amazing in flavor. The skin on fries were plentiful and expertly fried.
French onion soup ($4.95) was one of the best I've ever had.
I combined this with a wedge salad ($5.95) and receiveda $2.50 discount on the soup; so that worked out and I had all the flavors and textures craved. Another great experience at a casino.

Sage Cafe at Barona Resort and Casino 1932 Wildcat Canyon Road Lakeside Ca 92040 1-888-7BARONA open 24 hours website

JoYee’s (Chinese breakfast, Jian Bing and cafe) (inside original 99Ranch complex)

August 30, 2018 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Cathy is writing today; Kirk is starting a long weekend of relaxing; He's earned it.

A few months ago, E and Drink, located inside the Original 99Ranch complex, closed. Finally new signage came up and The Mister and I were curious.

We read the menu one morning, but decided to go across the hall to Sam Woo for breakfast. When we left there was a line of people ordering and waiting for 'to go' orders and tables. (Click and enlarge this photo to read the menu)
We returned on a weekday morning. You order, pay, get a buzzer and find a seat. For a first visit, we decided to try a soybean milk (no sugar)(warm) ($1.69) and a donut ($1.99). I really liked the soybean milk, the donut was fresh made, very hot and it was oily. Nevertheless, I liked it and tore pieces to put into the soybean milk as well as some of our other breakfast selections.

It was around 10 a.m. and we figured a tea egg ($0.99) would be a nice snack. The egg was hot when brought to the table, but it was pitiful; no tea markings or flavor…a hard boiled egg.

We also decided to try the millet porridge ($2.69) which desperately needed some flavor, although it was not to mushy and quite tasty in a fresh millet sort of way. Fortunately the tabletop condiments helped.

Also on the breakfast menu, a Laver and Egg Soup ($2.69) was ordered and this needed no additions. After we were finished we noticed wontons on the breakfast menu and made a mental note to try those next time…with the mung bean and rice porridge, thereby completing the breakfast menu.

We returned a few days later. The cucumber salad appetizer ($2.99) was a natural choice. It was great to have alone and with the rest of our order as a 'palate cleanser'.
We also ordered the Noodle with Wood Ear and Pork ($8.99) from the far right side of the menu. This was a large serving with some pretty good, stretchy (but clumped) noodles topped with wood ear mushrooms, pork, tofu, carrots and cucumber. The flavor combination was excellent. Near the end, we added soy and chili sauce, just to jazz up the flavors.

When you first see the menu, the far left column is Jian Bing ($5.49, the base price). A savory egg crepe, Jian Bing is usually a breakfast item, but served all day here.
There is a nice lady in the back making the crepes for all to watch (the rest of the kitchen is behind).
The crepe is made with two eggs, green onion, sesame seeds, a 'biscuit' and a homemade chili sauce (I asked for light chili; the chili sauce on the table is different than the sauce inside the Jian Bing. )

The 'biscuit' is that crispy wonton skin. The combination of flavors and textures in this snack was wonderful. You can add on to the Jian Bing: dry meat, spicy beef, lunch meat and/or a Chinese donut. I don't think any of the add ons were necessary, but many people around us did have a big ol' Chinese donut stuffed into their order. You might have noticed on the menu board that the beverages are Buy One Get One during the Grand Opening period. We ordered Liji Matcha with Cheese Foam ($4.75). I've read about cheese foam drinks and wanted to try this. The matcha milk tea was a good quality matcha (I asked for low sugar) with some tannin notes. The cheese foam top was a treat in itself-like light whipped cream cheese topped with matcha powder. The cups are reusable, with interesting lids which I've not seen elsewhere (if you read the article, one Instagrammer (sp?) recommended to not use a straw and let the foam of the cheese blend with the tea.)